USA > Ohio > Wood County > Commemorative historical and biographical record of Wood County, Ohio : its past and present : early settlement and development biographies and portraits of early settlers and representative citizens, etc. V. 2 > Part 64
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Grandfather James Archer was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, of German ancestors. He lived in Richland county, where he followed the occupations of a blacksmith and farmer until 1834, when he moved to Wood county, and died in Bloom township at the age of forty years. He married a Miss Nancy Copas, who was born in Guernsey county, and who was over seventy years old at the time of her death. They were the parents of twelve children.
ALEXANDER SCHWARTZ, a prominent baker, confectioner, and ice cream manufacturer of Bowling Green, was born in Lorraine, a Ger- man province, August 20, 1863. He is the son of John and Mary (Riff) Schwartz, the former of
whom was born in Lorraine, June 2, 1817, and the latter in the same place, in 1828. She died in the old country, where her husband followed the occupation of a farmer.
Mr. Schwartz, Sr., came to America in 1882. and joined his son Alexander in Waverly, Ohio, later removing to Bowling Green, where he died July 27, 1895. He and his wife became the par- ents of seven children, as follows; George died at Batavia, Ohio, aged thirty-six years: Mary died in Germany; Victoria died in the old country; Paulina married John Bras, and lives in France; Alexander is our subject; Louisa lives in Nancy, France; Edward died in infancy.
The paternal grandfather, John Schwartz, was a weaver by trade, and died in Lorraine. He was in the French army ander Napoleon I. and carried two bullets in his body, which were received at the battle of Waterloo. He lived to the good old age of ninety-five. Our subject's fatlier was also a soldier, and fought in the Franco-Russian war.
Mr. Schwartz spent his boyhood days in Lorraine attending the public schools, where he learned the German language. For a while he worked in a mill, in order to learn the miller's trade, but left his position to come to America. Upon arriving in this country he first located in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he learned the baker's and confectioner's trade. He worked at this in various cities, among which were Jackson (Ohio), Batavia, Waverly, Nelsonville, Fostoria and Findlay. For the first year and a half he went in business for himself at Batavia; then sold out and came to Bowling Green in February, 1892, and immediately opened a place of business which he has been operating ever since. He met with success from the start, and to-day leads all others in his line. The building in which Mr. Schwartz carries on his work is fitted out with all the latest improvements, required in the mann- facture of ice cream and confectionery, and a visit through his establishment would prove in- teresting as well as instructive. The immense ovens in which the baking is done, the engine and machinery used in the manufacture of ice cream, and all the equipments of his business are of the best. When he put in his machine for freezing his ice cream, he was langhed at. but the first year he sold 1,400 gallons, the second 2, 200 gallons, and the third, over 4. 200 gallons, and this year he sold over 7.000 gallons. Besides his ice cream and confectionery plant. Mr. Schwartz owns forty acres of laud east of Bowling Green.
Our subject was married in Findlay. Ohio.
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January 21, 1890, to Miss Anna M. Urschalitz, who was born in Plymouth, Ohio, June 5, 1871. Mr. Schwartz' politics are Democratic. Socially, he belongs to the C. K. of St. John. He justly deserves the large and growing patronage which he at present enjoys, as he is progressive and in- dustrious, and although he came to America empty handed, possessing nothing but a desire to earn an honest living, he not only acquired knowledge of a trade, but stuck to it, until to-day he is one of the inost prosperous and successful business men in the county.
JOHN D. ROSEN, a popular citizen and suc- cessful farmer, and oil operator, of Henry town- ship, was born in Franklin, Warren Co., Ohio, February 12, 1848, and is a son of John and Eliza (Dial) Rosen. The father was a native of Penn- sylvania, and followed the various pursuits of farming, carpentering and milling. In his native State he married Eliza Dial, who was also born in Pennsylvania, and subsequently removed with his wife to Warren county, Ohio, where he fol- lowed the trades previously mentioned. Later he carried on agricultural pursuits in Miami coun- ty, Ohio, and then returned to Pennsylvania, where he made his home for five years. On the expiration of that period Mr. Rosen purchased a 120-acre farm in Henry township, Wood county, and in an old log cabin made his home while he improved his farm. As time passed greater pros- perity came to him. His last days were spent in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Sarah Jeffers, in North Baltimore, Wood county. In politics he was a Democrat, and, in religious belief, a Methodist. His wife passed away five years be- fore him. Their family contained the following children : Mrs. Sarah Jeffers; Sargent J. and Joanna (twins), the former of whom died at the age of twenty-eight years, the latter when a child; John E .; Joseph, of Ashland county, Ohio; and Elizabeth, who became the wife of B. A. Lawrence.
The educational privileges of our subject were limited. When his father went to Pennsylvania he secured work as a farmi hand in Miami coun- ty, Ohio; but after a year joined the family, and continued to reside in the Keystone State for three years, during which time he worked in a gristinill. He then came with his elder brother to Ohio, securing work on a farm near Cincin- nati, where he remained for three years, receiving from $io to $15 per month. He was afterward employed on another farm for six months.
On the 26th of February. 1874, in Butler county, Ohio, was celebrated the marriage of
Mr. Rosen and Miss Mary S. McCoy, who was born in that county in 1850. They now have one child-Albert, of North Baltimore, Ohio, who was born January 23, 1875. After their marriage they came to Wood county, locating on forty acres of land given Mr. Rosen by his father. In 1889, he discovered oil upon his place, and has since developed five wells which have proved a profitable source of income. He is an ener- getic and enterprising business man, and has won success in his undertakings. In politics he was formerly a Democrat, but his views on the tem- perance.question have led him to give his support to the Prohibition party.
JOSEPH DREPS, SR. (deceased), was among the pioneers of Middleton township, his residence dating from 1856. He was long numbered among the leading and esteemned agriculturists of this lo- cality, and the success he acquired also gave him rank among the substantial citizens. A son of Antony and Alener (Crotzburgh) Dreps, natives of Germany, he was born in that country, March 4, 1824, and was one of a family of five children, the surviving members being Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Roldorf, of Gerinany; and Augusta, resid- ing in that country.
Joseph Dreps attended school in his native land, and was employed on his father's farm until nineteen years of age, when he began working as a farm hand for others in order to carry out his cherished wish of coming to America. When he had acquired sufficient money, in 1852. he took passage on a sailing vessel. and after a voyage of thirty-five days landed in New York. He at once went to Detroit, Mich., thence to Toledo, Ohio, where he worked for four years. In 1856 he came to Wood county, and entered forty acres of land in Middleton township-a timber tract, also covered by water. He cut and sold the wood. then drained and tiled the land, set out an or- chard and planted crops. In 1886 he purchased an additional forty acres, and later bought an- other forty, so that he had at the time of his death, November 2, 1895, 120 acres, all under a high state of cultivation, with good buildings and modern improvements. He led an energetic. industrious life, and in clearing his land experi- enced those hardships known only to pioneer set- tlers. He came to this country with only three dollars, but steadily worked his way upward from humble surroundings to a position of affluence.
In September, 1854, in Toledo, Mr. Dreps wedded Mary Malter, of that city, who died Jan- nary 26, 1856. In the month of May following he was again married, his second union being with
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Barbara Auth, a native of Hessen, Germany. They had ten children: Joseph, born May 14, 1857; Barbara, December 14, 1858, wife of Jolin Shiple, a farmer of Middleton township; Henry A., July 11, 1862; Andrew, May 30, 1863; John, February 11. 1865; George, October 26, 1866; Sylvester, who was born February 14, 1870, and died October 20, 1889; Mary, Lena and Eliza- beth, triplets, born June 23, 1873. The last named is the wife of Charles Redouty, of Michi- gan, but the other two are single.
His fellow townsmen appreciating his worth and ability frequently called Mr. Dreps to office, and for seven years he efficiently served as road supervisor, while for six years he was school director. In politics he was a Democrat, and his religious connection was with the Catholic Church. His life was well spent, and his energy, resolute purpose and honorable dealing, brought to him success in business. His name is above reproach, his reputation spotless, and he pos- sesses a genial disposition that won him many warm friends who held him in the highest regard.
HENRY A. DREPS, a worthy representative of this family, now living in Lansing, Mich., is one of the native sons of Middleton township, where he was born, reared and attended school, acquir- ing his education in the common schools near his home. He worked upon his father's farm until 1881, when he entered commercial life as a traveling representative of the Toledo Molding Company, and remained in the employ of that firm until 1885. With the capital he had then acquired through his own exertions, he embarked in business for himself at Lansing, Mich., where he has since continued as a wholesale and re- tail dealer in molding and frames, meeting with good success. He is a wide-awake and progress- ive business inan whose standing is high in com- mercial circles, and his own efforts have brought him a prosperous trade.
In politics, Mr. Dreps is a supporter of the Democracy, and, like his father's family, he is a member of the Catholic Church. He was mar- ried April 21, 1890, to Marietta Bunline, who was born in Michigan, May 19, 1866.
JOHN FLOYD MCKEE, whose reputation as a stockman, particularly in the line of fine-bred horses, has become almost world-wide, as well as national, is a native of Wood county, having been born December 23, 1856, in Grand Rapids town- ship.
Capt. John McKee, father of our subject, was born in Washington county, Penn., June 30, 1823, a son of John McKee, who first saw the
light in Ireland in 1777, emigrated to this coun- try, and was married in Pennsylvania, whence he removed to Wood county, Ohio, in 1833, dying here the same year. He left a widow and four children, namely: John, father of John Floyd; Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Buckland, and died in 1886; Jane, who died young; and Nancy (Mrs. Smith), now deceased. The father of this family was a Freemason, having joined the order in Ire- land.
Capt. John McKee was ten years old when he came with his parents to Weston township, Wood county, where he passed the rest of his days. He there married Caroline Brown, who was born in Grand Rapids township, March 10, 1823, daugh- ter of Alexander Brown, one of the early settlers of Wood county, coming from Pennsylvania. To this union were born five children, three of whom are deceased-two daughters having died in in- fancy, and one son, Edward, born January 13, 1854, died October 18, 1854; the two living are John F. (our subject), and Alice, born December 22, 1848, married March 19, 1875, to William Meggison, of Grand Rapids, Ohio. The mother of these was called from earth December 26, 1856. In the fall of 1863 Capt. McKee enlisted in Company I, 144th O. V. I., of which, later, he was elected captain, G. Weddell being first lieutenant, and G. Kimberlin, second lieutenant. The company did not leave for the seat of war until May, 1864. At the battle of Monocacy Capt. McKee's command was badly scattered, and he received a severe wound in the thigh of the right leg, from which he suffered more or less until his death. His service in the war lasted four months. He died December 22, 1885, mourned by a large circle of friends. He was a successful farmer, a good citizen, straightforward and honest, and firm in the upholding of his principles of integrity. He was not a member of any church, although his family have always been Presbyterians, to which faith he strongly inclined. and of which denomination he had for years been a substantial supporter.
John Floyd McKee received his education at the district schools of his native township, and assisted his father in the work of the farm until he was twenty-one years old, when he assumed entire control of the homestead. To-day he is the possessor of over 500 acres of excellent land, whereon stands his magnificent residence, the admiration of all, and the finest barn in north- western Ohio, one especially constructed with a view to the comfort and health of his numerous stock. For several years Mr. McKee has enjoyed a wide and enviable reputation as a breeder of
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and dealer in fine-bred horses, in all varieties, his business in this line-matching and selling- having extended to the farthest limits of both the Eastern and Western States. Not long since be sold a car-load of matched horses (bought in Chicago), in Bowling Green, and his market is not confined to the United States, for he has from time to time bought and sold many valu- able animals for European purchases. To-day the King of Belgium is driving a fine team of horses which Mr. McKee bought in the Chicago market, and is said to have been the best team ever bought or sold in that market up to that time. Mr. McKee paid $670 for the team; with- in ten days sold them for $1, Soo to John Miller, who in turn sold them to the King of Belgium for $4,400. Mr. McKee also feeds a large num- ber of cattle, and at the present time has on his farm some twenty-three head of as fine cattle as can be found anywhere. As a thoroughly reli- able, practical and expert stockman, and a master of the business, he has as we have al- ready said, almost a national reputation, and that he has every facility for caring for and handling the finest of stock goes without saying.
On December 20, 1SS2, John Floyd Mckee was married, in Grand Rapids township, to Miss Flora Heymann, daughter of Philip. W. Hey- inann, and three children have blessed this union, their names and dates of birth being as follows: John, June 22, 1884: Grace, September 21, 1887; and Maud, August 17, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Kee are members of the Presbyterian Church; in politics he is a Republican, but is no office seeker, though he has served as supervisor three terms, and on the board of education three years. He has inherited many of his father's characteristics, and is greatly respected for his uprightness, genial nature and philanthropy.
R. W. KELLY. One of the best known and most prominent agriculturists of Perry township, is the gentleman whose naine opens this sketch. and whose birth took place May 1, 1826, in what was then Richland county, Ohio, but is now Ashland county.
The parents of our subject were John A. and Rachel (Shawhan) .Kelly, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, in 1796, and the lat- ter in Virginia July 13, 1806. Their marriage took place in eastern Ohio on August 22, 1822, ind on June 19, 1832, they came with their fam- ily to Montgomery township and settled in Sec- tion 32. The father hadl come to Wood county the previous month, and pre-empted 160 acres of land, on which not a stick of timber had been cut.
The family made the journey from their former home by ox-team, with one horse as a leader. On the first niglit of their arrival they slept in the wagon, there being no building of any kind on the place or in the vicinity. A large maple tree, four feet in diameter, was cut down, and the body hollowed out and covered with puncheons, with blankets for the front and ends, this rude habita- tion affording them shelter until a round-log house was built. Drinking water was scarce, and their first effort was to dig a well, which they succeeded in doing after much difficulty. The first crop raised was potatoes and corn, and wild animals, such as wolves, deer, and bear, were plentiful. In reaching this isolated spot the father had to precede his family with an axe, cutting his way through the woods for four miles before reaching their future home, and in the eight miles from Risdon, now Fostoria, to their destination, they passed the homes of only two settlers, who were Isaac Keely and William Shawhan. Tiffin. Fre- mont, and Green Springs, were their milling points, which were reached with ox-teams, and about six days were consumed in making the trip.
To this brave pioneer couple eight children were born, of whom the following record is given : Josiah S., born September 21, 1824, died of cholera at Ellsworth, Kans., where he kept a boarding house during the construction of the Union Pacific railway through that section; Elea- nor W., born November 24, 1828, is the widow of Josiah Kiger, and lives in Millgrove; Lorenzo D., born October 15, 1830, died at Maple Rap- ids. Mich. ; Frederick S., born May 15. 1832, lives in Gratiot county, Mich. ; Mary, born July 14, IS34, married Samuel Fayler, and died in Kansas; William H. H., born May 12, 1236, lives in Coffee county, Kans .; Elizabeth, born April 15, 1838, married Amos K. Rainey. He was a soldier in Company B. frIth O. V. I., and was captured by the Rebels on his return from a visit to his sick wife, and died in Andersonville prison June 18, 1864. His wife died October 19, 1863, in Perry township. The mother of these children died January 23, 1840, and is buried at Millgrove.
Mr. Kelly was married, a second time, in Seneca county, in 1841, to Miss Nancy Patterson, who bore him one child, Rachei, who was born December 20, 1842, and became the wife of Lewis Heller and died in Toledo. The father died August 8, 1859, and his second wife in 1866. Mr. Kelly was a strong, robust man, and very act- ive in his early days. He served as land as- sessor of Wood county, and spent many days and nights also showing land to persons wishing to
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pre-empt it, for which purpose he kept a rude chart of lands not already entered. For this work he received one dollar a day. He was originally a Whig, and afterward became a Re- publican, being a leading man in his party in his locality. He held at various times the offices of county commissioner and probate judge, and was justice of the peace in Montgomery township. At the time of his death he owned 280 acres of good land, and was one of the most prominent citizens of the township.
Our subject was but six years old when his parents removed to Wood county, and his first schooling was in a log cabin, 14 x 16 feet, his teacher being a lady by the name of Emeline Palmer. He did not learn his "A, B, Cs." until he was thirteen years old, and then had but few ad- vantages for pursuing his studies, as there was always plenty for him to do, and he only went to school when it was too wet to work. He after- ward attended school for two winters in Tiffin, Ohio, living with Abel Rawson, an attorney of that place, and working for his board. One of his reminiscences of this time is his attendance in June, 1840, of a meeting at Perrysburg during the celebrated "hard cider campaign " at which he saw William H. Harrison, who was afterward elected President. When nineteen years old, Mr. Kelly entered the store of his uncle, R. W. Shawhan, at Tiffin, Ohio, as a clerk. This gen- tleman was a general merchant who owned two stores, one in Tiffin and one in Fort Ball, the latter now being a part of the former city. He remained in this position until February 1, 1849, when he became one of a company of four sent out by his uncle to California to dig gold on shares.
Mr. Shawhan gave this party $2, 800 under the following conditions: they were to refund this money out of their first profits, and in case the project was a failure Mr. Shawhan was to lose the whole amount; if a success, he was to receive one-half of the proceeds of their work. They set sail from New York to Chagres, on the eastern coast of the Isthmus, well provided with six months' provisions, camp outfit, and other necessaries. At the Isthmus they hired. natives to take their outfit to Panama for $too. Eight dimes went to the dollar, and they had supplied themselves with $too in dimes. They had ship- pedone year's extra provisions around Cape Horn, and when these reached San Francisco theydid not even take them from the steamship offices. Each man also had a trunkfull of clothing, which was more than needed and which was never takeu from the storage room. On their arrival at Pan-
ama, no vessels yet being running in the San Francisco trade, they waited ten days, and then with over a hundred other passengers boarded a British mail vessel, plying between Panama and Valparaiso. They all agreed to stay on this boat unil they could put in at a port and charter a vessel for San Francisco. At Callao, Peru, they found a whaler four months out from Nan- tucket, which they chartered, and after ten days' delay, which was necessary to transform this ves- sel into a rudely equipped passenger boat. in which they finally set sail, and fifty-two days later arrived at their destination. Soon after they went to Sacramento, and found they had but $280 left out of their $2, Soo. This was the first party that left Seneca county, Ohio, for Califor- nia, and consisted of the following men: R. E. Brewster, William Holt, John Schmitt, and R. W. Kelly. It took them from February I to June 8, to make the journey from Tiffin, Ohio. to San Francisco, California ..
Soon after their arrival this party began min- ing in what is now Eldorado county, Cal., on the middle fork of the American river, and win- tered four miles from Sutter's mill, the place where gold was first discovered. The party re- mained together for two months, when our sub- ject and William Holt formed a partnership. and worked together during the remainder of their stay there. On October 1, 1850, Mr. Kelly and his partner, Mr. Holt, left San Francisco on a steamer, and returned to New York by Panama, reaching Tiffin on the first of the following Decem- ber. These men were strictly honorable, and carried out their agreement, dividing their profits with Mr. Shawhan, each having a snug sum of money left, and which, in the case of our subject, was the foundation of his success in business.
His first enterprise was the purchase of 159 acres of land in Section 14, in Perry township. for which he paid $2,000 cash, leaving a balance of $900 on time. He was married June 5, 1851. in Portage township, to Miss Eliza J. Dresser, who was born in Richland county, Ohio, May 23. 1830. Aaron Dresser, her father, was a son of Samuel Dresser, and was born in New Hamp- shire. When he was eighteen years old his time was given him by his father, and he came to Rich- land county, Ohio, about 1820. He had a good common-school education, and taught school for a number of years. He married Esther Davis. and in the summer of 1834 came with his family to Portage township, Wood county, the journey being made with ox-teams, and they crossing many deep streams, some of which the cattle had to swim. Their land was in an uncleared forest.
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where they built a small house, and much hard labor was expended in preparing the land for cul- tivation. The children of this family were as fol- lows: Sarah A., who died when fourteen years old; Eliza J., wife of our subject; Susan L., who married Andrew J. Hall, and died at twenty-two years of age; Daniel, who died when twenty-four years old; John, who died at sixteen; Margaretta (now Mrs. Henry Adams), who lives in Portage township; Mary A., who became the wife of Reuben Hillard, and died in Portage township. Aaron Dresser lived to be over ninety-two years old, his wife passing away at the age of forty- seven years. Both are buried in Millgrove cem- etery. Mrs. Kelly taught school for four years before her marriage, the salary being $1.50 per week, which was considered excellent wages in those days.
When Mr. Kelly located on his farm, in Perry township, it was in poor shape, its only improve- ments being a small frame house and a round- log stable. He spent considerable time and labor on it, and in March, 1852, traded farms with Justus Stearns, of Montgomery township, receiv- ing 200 acres in exchange for his 159 acres. Later he sold this farm for $3,000, and in 1854 opened up a general merchandise store in West Millgrove, buying his goods in New York City. He was very successful in this business, which he carried on for five years; but failing health com- pelled him to retire from business, and he traded his store and other property for 400 acres of land in Montgomery township, and, renting his father's old-home farmn in that township, removed to it in the spring of 1860, where he lived until March, 1882. He then removed to his present location, in Section 4, Perry township, where he has ever since resided. He has practically been a fariner continuously since 1859, and now owns over 700 acres of valuable farming land. In 1881 he built one of the best farm residences in Wood county, which is situated near West Millgrove, and where he and his family are enjoying all the comforts and conveniences of life.
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